Have any translators seen or signed agreements stating something like 'Customer shall have the right to invoice Supplier for the cost of quality assurance'? Is it usual practice? As a translator/supplier, should I sign it?

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Sounds very strange. Quality assurance is a service an agency provides to the client. Who is going to establish the "cost of quality assurance"? It opens you to unlimited liability.

In my terms and conditions I say the client has 8 days to draw my attention to any changes needed, which I will correct at no charge, as a guarantee. I state that under no circumstances will I be responsible for changes anyone else makes to a translation I have done.

I have no difficulty signing Non Disclosure Agreements with clients but I am very leary of any agreements that have strange quality or liability clauses.

If you really want to work for this client, cross out the offending paragraphs and sign it like that. Chances are they won't mind, and if they do it's a warning sign that there may well be trouble ahead if you do agree.

[Edited at 2014-01-16 14:34 GMT]

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I was under the impression that in any business transaction it was the customer/client who paid and the supplier/service provider who invoiced. In extreme circumstances, where a product/service of suitable quality has not been delivered, the customer may have the right to withhold payment in part of in full, but they don't have the right to invoice the supplier.

There have been threads over the last few years about getting close to the point where we translate for free - they'll soon seem outdated if clients are going to talk about invoicing us!

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It sounds like a clumsy way of saying "If you make a mess of a job and we have to pay someone else to fix it, we'll charge it to you," which is fair enough.

I don't think it's worth agonising about the finer points of contract wordings. They just go into the electronic equivalent of a dusty filing cabinet and get forgotten about. I've been translating for 25 years, and no one has ever said: "It says XYZ in your contract and we're going to enforce it against you."

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philgoddard wrote:
It sounds like a clumsy way of saying "If you make a mess of a job and we have to pay someone else to fix it, we'll charge it to you," which is fair enough.

The OP lives in Thailand and, according to her profile, sometimes charges the same rate per word of translation as I charge for proofreading French to English from my home in Europe. I agree that it can be fair for a client to request a reduction if a translation is proven to be inadequate for the job, but it isn't appropriate for the client to charge the translator whatever they like.

I've been translating for 25 years, and no one has ever said: "It says XYZ in your contract and we're going to enforce it against you."

Oh dear, Phil, I do hope you don't live to regret those words.

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